By Ana Breton

U students may soon find themselves searching for campus information in a giant iPod.

The design is one of 25 created during a kiosk design competition-sponsored by the U Department of Architecture and the Union Board-in which U students designed and created replacements for the old wooden kiosk in the Union Free Speech Area.

Ryan Smith, assistant professor in architecture, said this competition provided an opportunity for students to mentor and learn from each other.

“It also helped as a warm-up exercise for the year and gave students the chance to work on a real project that might actually move forward,” he said.

Solely composed of architecture students ranging from freshmen to third-year graduate students, 25 six-person teams were assembled with an assigned faculty member.

Working as many as eight hours a day, students had only one week-starting Aug. 23-to plan, design and build a display of their ideal kiosk.

Among the ideas proposed were a giant monolith, advertising bridges that double as seats and a motion-activated kiosk that mimics the flow of student traffic, stopping ads as students pause for a longer look.

Besides having the chance to have their design brought to life, six finalist teams will receive a $1,000 prize to split among the six teammates.

Whit Hollis, Union director, said he estimates that not just one, but 15 to 20 kiosks will be placed around campus. Locations are yet to be determined, but one is guaranteed to replace the Union’s.

The number of designs that will be chosen depends on the budget, which is set at $50,000 to $70,000 per kiosk.

A nine-person jury-comprising student-government leaders, Union Board and campus design members and practicing architects-examined the designs Aug. 30.

The designs’ biggest trend was the appearance of digital technology, said Smith, who also served as a judge.

The jury determined the six finalists but will not reveal the winning teams until a later date.

Rachel McKenzie, a second-year graduate student in architecture and member of team 16, helped design a copper structure made to look like a portal.

“Some people have said that it looks retro or futuristic, but the idea of the future was a huge part of our design,” she said. “We wanted to create a figure that would extend (students’) picture of the world so they look toward the future.”

Calling her schedule “typical” for an architecture student, McKenzie said she spent six hours a day working on the project with her team.

The day the project was due, she worked until 3 a.m.

The Union Board did not hire an architect for the job to get students involved, Smith said.

“In addition,” he said, “you get 25 ideas instead of one.”

Hollis is currently planning to display all the designs in the Union Ballroom at a later date.

Kate Burns

Sarah Sabiston and Chamonix Larsen move down for a closer look at one of the 25 kiosk designs in a competition sponsored by the Department of Architecture and the Union Board. One design will replace the wooden kiosk in the Union Free Speech Area and a number of other designs will be used to place new kiosks on campus.